With playoff bid at stake, W&M defense falters against Richmond

RICHMOND — Here is William and Mary's bleak and final football Saturday of 2013 in capsule: Before Richmond could snap the first play after halftime, the Tribe was penalized for having too many men on the field.

So coming out of the locker room, William and Mary's defense, statistically the nation's best, failed at the basics: lining up properly.

"That kind of shows you what was going on, I guess," Tribe coach Jimmye Laycock sighed. "I don't know what that was."

Not that the Spiders needed the 5-yard gift. They passed virtually at will and, most surprising, bullied William and Mary on the ground in a 31-20 victory that doomed the Tribe's chances of qualifying for the Championship Subdivision playoffs.

For all of William and Mary's upgrades after last season's 2-9 flop, Saturday's sting will linger. So accustomed to cuffing opponents around, the Tribe absorbed game-long punishment.

"I'm very disappointed about the way we played, both offensively and defensively," Laycock said, "but it started off defensively really."

Consider the third-quarter touchdown drive that ripped any semblance drama from the festivities. Michael Strauss completed passes of 21, 19 and 20 yards before, on third-and-goal from the 2, tailback Seth Fisher took a direct snap and bulldozed two of the Tribe's best defenders, linebacker Luke Rhodes and free safety Jerome Couplin III, en route to the end zone and a 31-13 lead.

A 230-pound sophomore, Fisher rushed for two touchdowns and a career-high 131 yards, providing the ideal complement to the Colonial Athletic Association's top passing offense. A junior transfer from Virginia, Strauss threw for 232 yards and a score, despite the absence of his favorite target, York High graduate Ben Edwards (knee injury).

More than compensating was Stephen Barnette, the CAA's most productive receiver. The 6-foot-2, uber-athletic Barnette caught seven passes for 90 yards, giving him a school-record 1,189 yards on the season.

Perhaps most frustrating to the Tribe, the Spiders converted eight of their first 11 third downs (72.7 percent). Prior to Saturday, William and Mary (7-5, 4-4 CAA) led the conference and ranked 10th nationally in third-down defense at 31.4 percent.

And on the rare occasion that the Tribe managed a stop? Strauss connected with Barnette for 29 yards on a fourth-and-3 to set up the touchdown that gave Richmond (6-6, 4-4) a 14-10 lead it would not relinquish.

In its previous four games, all versus ranked opponents, William and Mary's defense had allowed three touchdowns. Richmond's offense scored four.

During that suffocating defensive stretch, the Tribe defeated James Madison, New Hampshire and Delaware to rocket into playoff contention. Last Saturday's 15-9 home loss to then-No. 10 Towson did not eliminate William and Mary but created win-or-adios pressure against Richmond.

"The only game I really felt like their defense was off track a little bit or a step behind, was the Maine game," said Richmond coach Danny Rocco, referring to a 34-20 defeat that was the Tribe's most lopsided. "So we spent a lot of time looking at that and trying to do some things that might be similar to what Maine had done."

The shortcomings that most perturbed Laycock were the lack of a pass rush — the Tribe had one sack — and the Spiders' 149 yards rushing.

"That showed me that something was wrong defensively," he said. "Either it was the plan or the players, whatever."

Linebacker Airek Green absolved the coaches and blamed himself and teammates for poor tackling.

Green's 40-yard fumble return for touchdown gave the Tribe its only lead at 10-7, and the defense should have had another score. When receiver Rashad Ponder slipped and fell on a short sideline route, Strauss' pass went directly to strong safety Ivan Tagoe, who dropped the sure pick-six.

"Aww, tell me about it, tell me about it," Laycock said. "That could have really gone the other way."

The Spiders' playoff aspirations vanished during a four-game, midseason losing streak, but Laycock and Co., knew full well that danger lurked.

Five of Richmond's six setbacks were by a touchdown or less. Also, the Spiders were riding a three-game winning streak that included a 46-43, come-from-behind victory at then-No. 21 Delaware last week. Strauss threw for five touchdowns and a school-record 543 yards in that contest.

Richmond didn't produce similarly epic numbers Saturday but did complete its second perfect November in as many years under Rocco and end its traditional rival's season.